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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872403">The Tell-Tale Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/publiusvirgilius/pseuds/publiusvirgilius'>publiusvirgilius</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Late at Night</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:42:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,050</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/publiusvirgilius/pseuds/publiusvirgilius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Your boyfriend Spencer Reid returns home late after a case, and you've been feeling anxious under a lot of stress.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Spencer Reid/Reader, Spencer Reid/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Tell-Tale Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke with a start when I heard the door open.</p><p>Spencer had told me not to wait up for him since he would be getting in late, maybe even closer to the next morning. Usually I would argue, insisting on picking him up at the Bureau, but I had had a long week, with my boyfriend gone on a case, unable to distract and discourage me from overworking.</p><p>And so, as soon as I finished up my work at the office, I drove straight to my own apartment, where I promptly fell into bed, my weariness overtaking me before I even had a chance to mourn the lack of a certain familiar warm presence next to me.</p><p>It was impossible to tell how long I had been asleep, and I was too nervous to tear my eyes away from my bedroom door and check my phone for the time. My heart beat loudly in my chest, and I felt as if I were waking up from a nightmare that had yet to unfold. I held the blankets close to my chest, my spine straight and my eyes alert, trying to gain focus in the darkness of the room.</p><p>The floorboards in the hallway creaked as pair of footsteps made their way farther into the house. They sounded heavy, most likely from a large male.</p><p>Spencer had told me that the most effective action when it came to a home intruder was inaction. In general, intruders only got violent when they perceived a threat in the house, and otherwise, they would just steal whatever valuables they had been seeking and exit just as quietly as they entered.</p><p>Spencer. Where was my boyfriend when I needed him? I quickly went through all the ways in which I could think to defend myself if it should come to that while sitting as quietly as possible in my bed, still clutching the blankets.</p><p>A figure appeared in my doorway, and it was all I could do not to scream.</p><p>As he approached, I noticed a familiarity in the outline of his silhouette. He was tall and somewhat thin, with a strong posture. There was a chance I could overpower him, but I couldn't tell if he was armed, and I wasn't willing to take that risk.</p><p>Instead, I picked up my phone off of the bedside table and spoke in the strongest voice I could manage. "My boyfriend is an FBI agent and I have him on speed dial. Even if you kill me, you won't have time to get away. Do you really want to be charged for murder on top of theft?"</p><p>"He must be a pretty shitty boyfriend if he's not here with a girl as beautiful as you," he said.</p><p>My heart dropped in panic, until I realized I recognized that voice.</p><p>"Spencer?"</p><p>"That's not how I told you you should deal with a home intruder." I could hear the smile in his voice.</p><p>I threw a pillow at his face, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins making for a fairly solid throw. "You scared me!</p><p>"Ow," he said, unsuccessfully blocking my throw. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait to see you until the morning."</p><p>"So you broke into my house?"</p><p>"You really should get a security chain for your door," he said. "Or at the very least, use your deadbolt."</p><p>I gave him a look to let him know that he was not in a position to lecture me.</p><p>"I'm really sorry, Y/N. What can I do to make it up to you?"</p><p>"You can start by coming in here with me." I patted the space next to me on the bed.</p><p>Spencer obliged, snuggling in next to me and instinctively wrapping his arm around my shoulders, his free hand reaching out to hold mine.</p><p>"Your heart is beating over a hundred beats per minute," he said, caressing my wrists. "I really am sorry I scared you."</p><p>I sighed, begrudgingly melting into his comforting embrace. "How was the case?"</p><p>"Suicide by cop, but the girl is going to be okay," he said. "Now get some sleep, I know you've been working all week."</p><p>I tried best to close my eyes and willed my heart to slow down. But my profiler boyfriend could tell that I was still tense. After I shifted for the third time, he gently tilted my head to look up at him.</p><p>"What's going on?" he asked.</p><p>"I just— You weren't here, and if anything had happened..."</p><p>"I'll do anything to keep you safe. You know that."</p><p>"No, but—"</p><p>"No?" He blinked, drawing back his upper body slightly to look at me. "When we started dating, I told you I wouldn't let this job get to you."</p><p>"But it gets to you, Spencer," I said miserably. "If anything were to happen to you—"</p><p>"I'm in good hands," he said softly. "You've met my team."</p><p>There were no words to describe the amount of panic and worry I felt during each moment I spent without him, and all I could do was pull him closer, wrapping my arms around his slim torso and breathing in his familiar scent.</p><p>Spencer kissed the top of my head and began to stroke my hair in long, gentle sweeping motions with his delicate fingers.</p><p>"I'm not going anywhere," he murmured against my skin. "Do you want me to read you a story?"</p><p>I nodded, my breaths becoming more even as snuggled comfortably against his chest.</p><p>"Alright, how about some phantasmagorical short fiction?" he mused, mostly to himself. Then he began reading from memory:</p><p>"True! —nervous —very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am," he started. "But why will you say that I am mad?"</p><p>Spencer's voice was soft and smooth, but alive. He wasn't just reciting prose, but genuinely telling a story. He clearly pronounced each word, and the tension in my body unwound bit by bit with each lilting syllable. I could feel his chest vibrate against my ear as he spoke, his own breaths finding a natural rhythm between the words.</p><p>"Hearken! and observe how healthily —how calmly I can tell you the whole story," he continued.</p><p>I never heard the rest of the story, for his voice soon lulled me into an easy sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspired by Matthew Gray Gubler's reading of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.<br/>(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9a0K36_qKU)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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